


On Behalf of Every Man Looking Out for Every Girl

by mcgarrygirl78



Series: fiftysomething [34]
Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Alternate Universe, Drama, F/M, Family, Friendship, Humor, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-06
Updated: 2014-10-06
Packaged: 2018-02-20 01:56:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2410715
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgarrygirl78/pseuds/mcgarrygirl78
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“I want more of a say in what she wears from now on.” Hotch said.</p>
            </blockquote>





	On Behalf of Every Man Looking Out for Every Girl

**Author's Note:**

> The title comes from the John Mayer song, _Daughters_.

Hotch was mortified when his almost-fourteen year old daughter, that’s the way she described herself, took off her tee shirt and revealed a red triangle bikini. She seemed to have a lot of those on this trip and he never remembered buying them for her. He would have remembered something like that. She was still relatively flat-chested, a relief, but something was starting to grow up there. Not that he wanted to leer at his daughter and he didn’t want anyone else doing it either.

Hotch looked around the park trying to imagine how many pedophiles might be in there today. He looked at Michael Kassmeyer and hated that he was suddenly giving Bree more attention. They were cousins, not blood but close enough, and he shouldn’t be looking at her that way. How many other teenage boys, almost teenage boys, and even worse grown men, were looking at her that way? This was deeply, deeply terrifying and unacceptable.

“She's hardly out of an A cup.” Natalie leaned over to whisper to him as they were walking.

“Oh my God,” Hotch covered his ears. “How could you say that to me? I didn’t want to know that, Nat.”

“She's almost fourteen years old.”

“I just didn’t want to know. Sabrina!”

“Yes Daddy?” she stopped walking and turned around.

“Put your shirt back on please.”

“It’s hot out here.”

“You're showing everything.” Hotch reasoned.

“There's nothing to show.” She countered. “I'm shaped like flatbread.”

Emily laughed. She turned back and looked at Hotch. “I'm wearing my bathing suit top, Aaron. It’s warm out today.”

“Where did she even get all of these bikinis?” he asked. “She shouldn’t be running around like that…men will stare.”

“Trust me Daddy, there are plenty of half-dressed girls out here for them to do that. I'm fine.”

“You're not fine. Put your shirt on.” He said it in his full Director of the FBI voice.

“Mom!” Bree exclaimed, doing the full-on teenage girl huffy puff. “Dad is being insane again.”

“Aaron,” Emily walked back and took his arm.

Natalie took her cue. She’d been walking with Hotch but she didn’t need to be there when his wife put him in his place. She walked up some, taking Dylan’s hand. He was happy to be her companion.

“Leave Sabrina alone.” She spoke quietly. “She's surrounded by family and we’re going to look after her. She’s going to look after herself.”

“Why do you always buy her things like that, Emily? It drives me crazy…she’s too young for a bikini.”

“No she's not.”

“I want more of a say in what she wears from now on.” Hotch said.

“Good luck with that.” Emily just sighed and let him go.

He was in crabby old man mode and she wasn’t going to deal with it this afternoon. She promised the girls, Bree, Isabel, Lex and CeCe, some time on the water rides before they took a late lunch break. Hotch and Sam were going to take Michael, Dylan and the twins on roller coasters. Emily wished she could be there to take pictures of that. She would send Natalie instead.

Bree looked back at her father when her mother came and put her arm around her. She hated that look on his face. It teetered between angry bull and heartbroken rejection. She also hated that sometimes he held on too tight and was choking her. With this latest thing, Bree didn’t know whether to smirk because she’d won so far or run back to the hotel and put on a one-piece.

She didn’t like it when she and her father didn’t see eye to eye. They didn’t a lot these days because she was growing older and spreading her wings. He relented to the nose ring under horrible duress…there was no way he was gonna go for the eyebrow, cheek, or lip. He always complained that her shorts were too short or her tee shirts too tight. What was she supposed to do?

She never bought clothes that were purposely seductive. She was about five foot six and was still shaped like a nine year old boy. Yes, she knew there were men out there, bad men, who might want to hurt her. She knew it scared her father to death. But bad men were going to leer at her whether she was wearing a burlap sack or a bikini top. Bree was no dumb kid; she had already picked out four guys in the crowds who really needed to keep their eyes to themselves.

Sam dropped back and walked beside Hotch. The two men just looked at each other; Hotch sighed.

“How the hell am I gonna keep her safe?” he asked.

“Being there.” Sam replied.

“This is what you have to look forward to in about seven years.”

“That should give me just enough time to wrap my mind around it.”

“See, you think it would but it doesn’t. They’re smarter than us Sam, savvier, everything. Her girlfriends are all flirty and seductive; they even try to be that way with me. I can't watch her every second of everyday, though I’d like to try. And to top it all off she's getting a nose ring for her birthday.”

“What?” Sam looked at him wide-eyed. It wasn’t that he thought Sabrina wouldn’t be adorable with a nose ring. He knew that a lot of the teenage girls liked them. He was most surprised his brother-in-law went for that.

“She knows about Foyet.” Hotch lowered his voice.

“Google?” Sam asked.

“I told her. Don’t give me that look Sam; she walked in on me shirtless.”

“Your daughter has never seen you shirtless? She’s almost fourteen years old.”

“No. C'mon, you know I always wear a tee shirt or a tank top. Even while swimming. I guess my kids just never bothered to care. Then one morning she just walked in and I was holding my shirt. Bree has never been good at knocking. It was a hard thing to tell her.”

“She's gonna be fine, Hotch. She’s a lot like her mother; a fighter and a realist. I know what you’ve taught her and I know she listens. You’ve got the incredible luck of raising kids with someone who knows what you know. Emily wants to protect them by being truthful instead of hiding the horrors out there. Jessie and I don’t clash on a lot but that’s one of the issues we’re constantly working on.”

Hotch sighed again, wishing he could wish that awful triangle bikini top away. Bree used to wear an adorable Minnie Mouse one piece where Minnie’s ears were black and sparkly. She wanted to wear it all the time; would get pouty and sad when her mother made her wear another bathing suit. Of course she was four at the time but Hotch wanted to go back to those days for just a little while. To the days where he was the hero and his little girl was just a little girl. This place in between was cold and confusing.

***

There was a poker game going on in Morgan’s room tonight. Hotch’s chair was being left warm as there was something he wanted to do before settling in for the night. He went down to Natalie and Tug’s room; could hear his daughter laughing inside. When he knocked on the door, his stepfather opened it.

“Hey Aaron.”

“Hey, can I come in?”

“Of course.”

Hotch stepped in and Tug went back to the table where he’d been reading. Nat and Bree were playing cards on the bed, just gabbing and laughing like old friends as oldies played on the radio. Hotch didn’t know what they were playing but coins were involved.

“Gambling is illegal in the state of Florida.” He said, dimples poking holes in his cheeks.

“I won't tell if you won't.” Natalie replied.

“As a federal agent I might be compelled to report this.”

“Just report it after I win my money back.” Bree said. “Natty is beating the pants off me.”

“Do you mind if we talk for a minute?” her father asked.

“Sure. Go on, Natty, I’ll wait.”

“I meant you and I, Bree.”

“Oh…um, OK.” She put her cards face down, telling her grandfather to keep an eye on her grandmother. Tug just laughed.

“We’ll step outside.” Hotch said.

“OK.” She nodded and followed him. “What's up?”

“I kind of acted like an ass today.”

“Daddy,” she sighed. “I don’t know what you're going through; I don’t have kids. I know you get freaked out because the world is such a dangerous place. I can't do anything about that. And sometimes it frustrates me cuz I'm just trying to be me. Its not always easy being your daughter just like it probably isn’t easy to be my dad.”

“I just worry…a lot.”

“I know. You weren't an ass today, you were just Dad. I'm fine; we’re not fighting or anything.”

“I love you so much.” Hotch said.

“I know.” Bree smiled and hugged him. “I love you too.”

“Did you bring any one-pieces on this trip?”

“Nope.” Bree shook her head. “I'm sorry to disappoint you.”

Hotch was disappointed. He felt like he would have to watch over her like a hawk for the rest of their time here. He knew Emily wasn’t going to allow that. One of these days he would find some kind of happy medium in being Sabrina’s father and the FBI agent who’d seen too much. By the time he did she would probably be an adult.

“You sure you're not mad at me?” he asked.

“Daddy, if I stayed mad at you for all the times you acted slightly neurotic we would never speak to each other.”

“You're too much like your mother.”

“That’s what everyone says.” Bree’s smile showed off the Hotchner dimples. “I take it as a compliment.”

“As well you should.” Hotch gave her another hug and a kiss. “Its hard watching you grow up, sweetheart. It’s hard but its also fascinating, fun, and amazing. A lot of days it’s just hard though.”

“I wish I could make it easier, Daddy. I really do.”

“Just keep being the most amazing kid on Earth. And never have sex, do drugs, or get tattoos.”

Bree laughed, squeezing him. She already knew what her first tattoo would be, figured she’d have to lose her virginity sometime this century, and was pretty sure there was a good chance she would stay away from drugs. She was a field hockey player after all.

“Go back in there and have fun with your grandparents.” Hotch said.

“Natty really is killing me. She’s won almost three dollars in change so far.”

“What are you guys playing?”

“Blackjack. I kinda suck at it.”

“Well, have fun anyway.” He kissed her forehead. “See you later, sweetie.”

“Bye Daddy.”

Hotch made sure she was safely inside the room before he headed down the hall to the poker game. This wasn’t the first time they’d had some form of this conversation. He knew he couldn’t protect her forever and surely couldn’t overprotect her. Still, it was hard to stop. Fourteen, and she wasn’t even that yet, was not a grownup. There were still many lessons and lectures coming down the pike.

Hotch still had a lot of time to be a dad. He just had to make sure that his worries didn’t get the best of him. Emily helped in that department and so did Sabrina herself. They knew how to gently put him back in his place and most of the time he knew when to listen. Just like he knew when to put his foot down and they knew when to acquiesce. This whole thing was a balancing act, and the high wire never took a vacation; even when the Hotchners did.

***

  



End file.
